It all started with a skin rash.
Ten years ago, race car driver Charlie Kimball went to his doctor to check out that small rash on his arm.
In the course of their conversation, the physician learned that Kimball had also been unusually thirsty in recent days.
When he weighed Kimball, the doctor discovered his patient had lost 25 pounds in five days.
He immediately suggested Kimball be tested for diabetes.
Kimball admits he was pretty clueless about the disease. He even asked his doctor if he could prescribe antibiotics for it.
I didnt know what it was or what it involved, Kimball told Healthline.
He soon found out when he was officially diagnosed at age 22 with type 1 diabetes.
Since that time, Kimball has become educated about diabetes.
He has also adjusted his life, both at home and behind the wheel of his race car.
A few years after his diagnosis, Kimball became the first person with diabetes to be allowed to drive in the Indianapolis 500.
On Sunday, he will compete in his seventh Indy 500 race.
As he circles that famed track the required 200 laps, Kimball will have a water bottle and a container of orange juice by his side.
Hell also be watching his blood glucose level on his dashboard.
Read more: Athletes with diabetes to follow on social media
Kimball concedes his diabetes diagnosis was a bit of a shock.
At age 22 you feel 10 feet tall and bulletproof, he said.
Kimball immediately had to start changing his daily routine.
He now takes insulin four times per day. One dose is a long-lasting insulin he takes in the morning. The other three are fast-acting insulin he takes after each meal.
Kimball also watches his diet much more closely.
He has learned that the carbohydrates in pizza, for example, take longer to enter the blood stream than most foods. He learned that corn has carbohydrates, too.
Kimball was initially worried about whether hed be able to continue race car driving.
I was concerned about getting back in my race car, he recalled. The race car is the only place I feel really alive.
That involved more than just driving.
Race car drivers are athletes.
They are handling vehicles without power steering that are traveling around 200 miles an hour.
The stress keeps their heart rate high throughout an entire three-hour race. They can lose seven pounds of water weight due to the heat of the car. And they can burn more than 1,100 calories in a single race.
Im always concerned about the safety element and the performance element, he said.
Kimball quickly learned, however, that his new dietary routine was actually enhancing his skills.
It helps me be a better athlete, he commented.
During his races, Kimball wears special sensors on his skin that monitor his body functions.
On his dashboard, he can monitor his blood glucose level and other health-related data along with his cars speed and how many laps he has completed.
Kimball said it isnt a coincidence hes the first Indy 500 driver with diabetes.
Until recent years, there wasnt the technology to provide enough support and assistance to a driver with this particular condition.
In addition, Kimball said, most people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed when they are children.
At that stage, most kids with the disease dont envision becoming a race car driver.
Kimball, on the other hand, was already doing it.
I wasnt going to let diabetes get in the way of my lifes dream, he said.
Read more: NASCAR driver getting the word out on colorectal cancer
Kimball hopes his drive to continue his race car career will inspire children and others with diabetes.
He said he wants youngsters to feel like they still can do whatever they want, whether its being an athlete, a rock climber, or a chief executive officer.
I want them to be able to chase their dreams, he said.
Kimball is also participating in a program at Michigan State University to study exercise physiology and race car driving.
David Ferguson, PhD, an assistant professor of kinesiology, oversees the program. Ferguson has been doing this kind of research for 12 years.
When Kimball came along, Ferguson saw an opportunity to hone his research even more.
Charlie is a good model for us to work with, Ferguson told Healthline.
One of the more interesting experiments the researchers have worked on is how driving on an oval track seemed to be a more difficult task for Kimball than driving on a more winding, surface street race course.
To discover what was happening, the researchers outfitted Kimball with a clear plastic box that encased his body from the waist down. The case was accompanied by some wooden blocks, cushions, and a bicycle seat.
By taking readings with the box, the researchers discovered that the blood in Kimballs lower legs was pooling more on oval courses because there are stronger g-forces.
With that knowledge, they set up a training schedule that exposed Kimball to that type of g-force to help him condition himself for it.
Ferguson said they hope to use what they learn from their experiments with Kimball to help the general population with diabetes management.
For Kimball, all of this helps him when hes on the race track.
The past two years, he has finished third and fifth in the Indy 500.
Hes hoping for an even better finish on Sunday.
If you want to keep track, Kimball will be in the car with the number 83 and the Novo Nordisk sponsor decals.
Read more: World Cup soccer stars next goal is to conquer lupus
Read more here:
First Indy 500 Driver with Diabetes Talks About Racing, Life with His Disease - Healthline
- Fresh health warning over common additive used in thousands of ultra-processed foods including mayo and bread - Daily Mail - April 25th, 2024
- Vertex jumps to TreeFrog to enhance production of Type 1 diabetes cell therapy candidates - FiercePharma - April 25th, 2024
- Spotting the warning signs of diabetes in your pets - CBC.ca - April 25th, 2024
- Lexington-Fayette County health department organizing weekend diabetes awareness expo - WEKU - April 25th, 2024
- Preventive effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on incident hypertension in patients with diabetes who do not have hypertension ... - Nature.com - April 25th, 2024
- Curbing the Price of Novel Diabetes and Obesity Medications - Yale School of Medicine - April 25th, 2024
- Stanford Health closing Livermore Diabetes and Bariatric Center - Pleasanton Weekly - April 25th, 2024
- The association of ALT to HDL-C ratio with type 2 diabetes in 5074 years old adults: a population-based study ... - Nature.com - April 25th, 2024
- VERTEX AND TREEFROG THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCE LICENSING AGREEMENT AND COLLABORATION TO ... - PR Newswire - April 25th, 2024
- Understanding the Complexity of Hyperglycemic Emergencies: Exploring the Influence of the Type and Duration of ... - Cureus - April 25th, 2024
- What Every Parent Should Know About Raising a T1D Kid - Health Central - April 25th, 2024
- Healthy Living & Diabetes Awareness Fair 2024 - University of New Mexico - April 25th, 2024
- New findings on pancreatic anatomy may affect diabetes research and treatment - Medical Xpress - April 25th, 2024
- The role of yogurt in diabetes and obesity prevention - News-Medical.Net - April 25th, 2024
- How exercising outdoors can prevent depression and diabetes - inews - April 25th, 2024
- Heart of the Valley: Valley woman discusses how she improved her health following diabetes diagnosis - KRGV - April 25th, 2024
- The Right Amount of Sleep Could Help Prevent This Extremely Common Disease - Inverse - April 25th, 2024
- 'Bread and Butter': Societies Issue T2D Management Guidance - Medscape - April 25th, 2024
- She was fired after not endorsing Splenda-filled salads to people with diabetes. Why? - The Guardian - April 25th, 2024
- Glycemic index of diets: importance beyond diabetes control - The Hindu - April 25th, 2024
- 1 woman thought she was destined for diabetes. This 1 realization helped her lose 70 pounds - Yahoo! Voices - March 29th, 2024
- Franciscan Health offering diabetes education at local churches - The Times of Northwest Indiana - March 29th, 2024
- For diabetes patients, needle-free insulin injections are on the way - ScienceBlog.com - March 29th, 2024
- Las Vegas nonprofit hosting health workshop specifically aimed at local Latinos - KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas - March 29th, 2024
- How Often Do You Really Need to Check Your Blood Sugar Levels? - WSJ - The Wall Street Journal - March 29th, 2024
- Unintended Effects of Caps on Insulin Out-of-Pocket Costs - Managed Healthcare Executive - March 29th, 2024
- Study: Pompe treatment Nexviazyme isn't linked to new or worsening... - Pompe Disease News - March 29th, 2024
- A Smoker With New-Onset Pain in Both Feet - Medscape Reference - March 29th, 2024
- Pre-diabetes leads to Type 2 diabetes; Here's how to prevent and reverse it - WXII12 Winston-Salem - March 29th, 2024
- 'From Interpretation to Action': Using CGM to Manage T2D - Medscape - March 29th, 2024
- March: diabetes-kidney | News and features - University of Bristol - March 29th, 2024
- Health centers attempt to prevent diabetes - WTVM - March 29th, 2024
- Beyond Meat Unveils New and Expanded Line of Beyond Crumbles, Now Certified by the American Heart ... - Yahoo Finance - March 29th, 2024
- Beyond Meat Launches Revamped Plant-Based Crumbles, Earning American Heart and Diabetes Association ... - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine - March 29th, 2024
- Ypsomed hands off insulin pen needle business to focus on smart pump, autoinjector development - Fierce Biotech - March 29th, 2024
- Take the online diabetes test that could help save your life - NBC Connecticut - March 29th, 2024
- Study evaluates the use of tirzepatide in overweight/obese adults with type 1 diabetes - News-Medical.Net - March 29th, 2024
- Risk prediction using genes and gut bacteria can improve early detection of diseases like type 2 diabetes - Medical Xpress - March 29th, 2024
- On a Healthy Vegan Diet, I've Healed My Liver, Reversed Type 2 Diabetes, and Lost 35 Pounds - Forks Over Knives - March 29th, 2024
- Study Links Diet, Diabetes, and Alzheimers - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024
- Novo Nordisk Isn't in The "Magnificent Seven," but Here's Why I Think It Should Be - Yahoo Finance - March 18th, 2024
- Doctor warns of strange telltale sign of diabetes which can appear on the legs - The Mirror - March 18th, 2024
- Unraveling the complexities of muscle repair in diabetes: A call for targeted research and therapies - News-Medical.Net - March 18th, 2024
- Popular diabetes and weight loss drugs often hard to get for people who need them - NBC News - March 18th, 2024
- Your Health Matters: The ABCs of diabetes - The Globe | News, weather, sports from Worthington, Minnesota - The Globe - March 18th, 2024
- The Link Between Pancreatic Cancer and Diabetes - Cedars-Sinai - March 18th, 2024
- Nikita Kuzmin diabetes: what was he holding in the CBB house? - Cosmopolitan UK - March 18th, 2024
- FDA Approves Rezdiffra, the First Drug for Diabetes-Related Liver Disease - diaTribe Foundation - March 18th, 2024
- He took up running rather than take diabetes medication. It worked - South China Morning Post - March 18th, 2024
- Can Eating Yogurt Really Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes? - Health.com - March 18th, 2024
- Even short periods of diabetes remission are linked to lower risk of heart attack and stroke - The BMJ - March 18th, 2024
- Kidney stone risk factors and how type 2 diabetes medication may help - WECT - March 18th, 2024
- 'Making the Invisible Visible': CGMs Offer Insights for T2D - Medscape - March 18th, 2024
- Novo Nordisk Discontinues Insulin Medication After Cutting Its Price - The American Prospect - March 18th, 2024
- Infographic: Where GLP-1s Work Now -- and What's Coming - Medscape - March 18th, 2024
- Intermountain Health Experts Say Education Key to Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes | PRUnderground - PR Underground - March 18th, 2024
- International body recommends more sensitive test to indicate risk of developing diabetes - The Hindu - March 18th, 2024
- The importance of knowing your A1C level - KSAT San Antonio - March 18th, 2024
- Tandem Diabetes Care's t:slim X2 Insulin Pump is the First Automated Insulin Delivery System to Integrate with ... - Business Wire - January 9th, 2024
- Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage Occurring Suddenly in a Diabetic Patient With Asthma Exacerbation - Cureus - January 9th, 2024
- Virginia Tech researchers find drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes reduce alcohol cravings - WRIC ABC 8News - January 9th, 2024
- FDA looking into reports of hair loss, suicidal thoughts in people using popular drugs for diabetes and weight loss - CNN - January 9th, 2024
- Glycemic control and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease according to ... - Cardiovascular Diabetology - January 9th, 2024
- Insulin price cap: More Americans will now pay no more than $35 - USA TODAY - January 9th, 2024
- Eli Lilly cracks down on the use of weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound for cosmetic reasons instead of for diabetes and obesity - Fortune - January 9th, 2024
- No Increased Risk of Suicidal Ideation With GLP-1 Drugs - Medpage Today - January 9th, 2024
- Ask the Doctors | New research being conducted to treat diabetes - Eureka Times-Standard - January 9th, 2024
- Salivary Chloride Intracellular Channel 1 (CLIC1) as a Hub of Gene-Gene Interactome of Periodontitis With Diabetes ... - Cureus - January 9th, 2024
- Why Omada's CEO Thinks Amazon Selected His Startup as the 1st Partner for Its New Program - MedCity News - January 9th, 2024
- Researchers find drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity reduce alcohol cravings - Medical Xpress - January 9th, 2024
- Randomized open-label trial of semaglutide and dapagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes of different ... - Nature.com - January 9th, 2024
- CV Safety Profile of TheracosBio's BRENZAVVY (bexagliflozin) Confirmed in Research Published in Diabetes ... - Business Wire - January 9th, 2024
- 6 "Bad" Fruits You Should Be Eating When You Have Diabetes, According to Dietitians - EatingWell - January 9th, 2024
- Children of Women with Type 1 Diabetes Have Increased Heart Defect Risk - Inside Precision Medicine - January 9th, 2024
- Transforming Corporate Health: Fitterfly's Success in Tackling Diabetes and Weight Issues - Business Standard - January 9th, 2024
- Ozempic and weight loss | News and views - Diabetes UK - January 9th, 2024
- Drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes reduce alcohol cravings - ScienceBlog.com - January 9th, 2024
- People taking Wegovy and Ozempic have lower risk of suicidal thoughts vs. older drugs, study finds - ABC News - January 9th, 2024
- For Those With Diabetes On Medicare Part D, Insulin Is $35...If Its Covered - Forbes - October 27th, 2023
- Biologist Douglas Melton: I was studying frogs until my son was diagnosed with diabetes then I started looking for a cure - EL PAS USA - October 27th, 2023